Analysis of Band Magazine Adverts

For this task, I thought it would be a good idea to analyse a range of band magazine adverts. Not only will this help me for when I have to design my own, but also it will give me an idea of  how a band promotes an album or event. 

This advert aims to promote a new album by the band 'Kings of Leon'. The main theme of the advert is the idea of the sun and summer, as connoted by the background image, of a pixelated tropical setting. This idea is further suggested by the title of the album that the poster is promoting 'Come Around Sundown'. The idea of summer of a very light and cheery one, perhaps a theme that is continued onto the album. It must be noted that no reviews are included on the advert, which may suggest that the band feel that they are big enough as they do not require reviews from credible sources,as they already have a solid fan base that buy their music based solely on the fact that it is by Kings of Leon. This idea is further shown by the lack of main image of the band. Generally, adverts will have an image of the band in order to create some sort of iconography, but as this album isn't the first by the band, they already have a significant fan base. The tag line "The New Album. October 18th" is also significant. Firstly, it shows the date that the album is released, which will inform the audience of when they will be able to buy the album. The language choice, such as 'New Album', helps to highlight the product that they are promoting. The inclusion of the logo for the company 'Play' highlights an example of convergence between the band and the website, highlighting that this is an example of a website that supports the band, and more importantly where the audience can go and buy the album.

This advert aims to promote a new album by 'Plan B'. A notable feature of this advert is the colour choice that is made. The fact that the advert uses quite dark colouring perhaps reflects the dark nature of the songs included on the able, and perhaps hints at the idea that the album is quite serious. This is further reflected by the idea that artists face is also in quite a serious position. The fact that the artist is shown in the advert is fairly conventional, and it also displays that the artist is not well known enough to sell records based solely on his name, but instead he requires iconography (This may reflect the fact that this was his first album released under the name Plan B). Plan B is written in bold writing, much larger than anything else on the page, which instantly shows the audience who the album is by. A number of reviews are included on the page, which help to give the audience an idea of what they might expect to hear in the album. It also shows to the audience that they can expect a high quality album.  The tag line 'Multi Platinum Album' shows that the album has already received worldwide aclaim, which may further convince the audience that they need to buy the CD, as it has been received so well.  An image of the CD is also included on the poster, which further adds to the idea of iconography, and gives the audience an image of the album that they should keep an eye out for.

This advert aims to promote a new live album by the band 'The Killers'. The colour scheme employed by this advert, using the dark colours of purple and black, help to instantly recognise the advert with the band, as this colour scheme is shared with one of their album colour schemes. This idea of recognisances is further seen by the inclusion of the band name, written in the typeface that has become synonymous with the band name, included at the top of the page, much larger than anything else. The tag line "All the greatest hits" highlights to the audience that the album includes only "great" songs, which as a result may convince them to invest in the album. The background image of the royal albert hall, cohesively working with the tag line "Live from the albert hall", shows that the band is not only successful enough to perform in such a location, but also adds a sense of prestige to the poster, and highlighting to the audience that the band is not just 'any band', but instead, they are important and are known in the industry. The list of tracks from the album are shown at the bottom, which will further aid the reader, as they will be able to see if they recognise any of the songs played on the album. Finally, the inclusion of 'CD/DVD' highlights that the album is available in a number of formats, appealing to a much wider audience. This is included alongside the release date of the album, which will let the reader know when they can look to buy the album.